Lower tier cities and older consumers are becoming important drivers of the sports footwear and clothing market. Focus on urban sports lines that balance brand image, high performance and price competitiveness, as these will be key to growth in lower tier cities. For the over 50s, health management and tailored retail experiences will be the new consumption growth points.
Tina Cheng, Research Analyst
Market Definitions
Active and outdoor wear is clothing designed for daily sports or outdoor activities, offering bodily protection, strong functionality, adaptability to different activities, durability and protection against inclement weather. As sports and outdoor activities increasingly form part of a healthy urban lifestyle, this type of apparel is gradually evolving from its practical beginnings to gain a foothold in consumers’ daily lives by offering a fashionable and comfortable style.
The sports and outdoor wear brands covered in this Report include Nike, Adidas, Lululemon, Anta (安踏), Li-Ning (李宁), Arc’teryx, Kolon Sport, FILA, On, Salomon, HOKA, Patagonia, Skechers and Camel (骆驼).
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- Key issues in this Report
- Definitions
- What you need to know
- The market
- The market and the competitive landscape
- Consumer demand
- Issues and insights
- What we think
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The market
- Market size and forecast
- Chinese market growing rapidly, so time is right for localisation
- Graph 1: sports footwear and clothing market size, 2021-25 (forecast)
- Rising local brands win favour with homegrown tech, culturally symbolic designs, in-depth niche operations
- International brands step up localised expansion to capture the premium market
- Market factors
- Chinese consumers are embracing active lifestyles
- Graph 2: sports participation rate, 2025
- Graph 3: changes in health management behaviour, 2025
- Sportswear blurs occasion boundaries
- Graph 4: factors in choosing outdoor brands, 2024
- As experience economy booms, physical stores offering shopping, casual socialising and services become popular
- Graph 5: preferred offline shopping experiences, 2024
- Sportswear brands create third spaces in physical retail outlets
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The consumer
- Product functionality becomes more specialised
- Functionality is key driver of spending on sports footwear, clothing
- Graph 6: purchase factors for specific sports footwear and clothing (high functionality vs fashionable design), by percentage of consumers who participate in each activity (any participation frequency), 2025
- Graph 7: purchase factors for sports footwear and clothing (any activity), 2025
- Rising consumer demand for functional technology in clothing, footwear
- Graph 8: functional needs in sports footwear, 2022-25
- Graph 9: functional needs in clothing, 2022-25
- National confidence drives rise of local brands as consumers favour tech innovations, values
- Graph 10: attitudes towards brands (strongly agree), by brand nationality preference, 2025
- Graph 11: brand preferences, by brand nationality, 2025
- A huge running market with increasingly specialised needs
- Graph 12: running participation in the last 12 months, by city tier, 2025
- Graph 13: purchase factors for sports footwear and clothing, by running participation and frequency, 2025
- High-frequency runners look for sweat absorption, wind resistance and stretch
- Graph 14: functional needs in clothing, by running participation, 2025
- Differentiate running shoes by performance features, psychological message
- Graph 15: motivation to stay engaged in sports, by running participation, 2025
- Graph 16: functional needs in sports footwear, by running participation, 2025
- Sportswear is the new fashion
- Thanks to social media, sportswear is now a medium through which people express their lifestyles and brands communicate
- Graph 17: sharing sports experiences or outfits online (a), by sports type (any participation frequency, ranked by TGI), 2025
- Brands need to strengthen their fashion image, connect with high-frequency sports consumers
- Graph 18: purchase factors for specific sports footwear and clothing (fashionable design), by percentage of participants in each activity (any participation frequency; more than six times), 2025
- Customisation emerges in sports equipment; footwear, clothing can evolve to follow suit
- Graph 19: interest in DIY decorating sports gear, by apparel/footwear likely to wear in everyday scenarios (a), 2025
- Fashion accessories now a highlight of sporting outfits
- Plumb the potential of waterproof health wearables in water sports
- Graph 20: use of health tech devices, by sports type (any participation frequency), 2025
- Graph 21: health tech equipment purchase plans, by sports type (any participation frequency), 2025
- Active lifestyles now form part of everyday life
- Sports equipment for everyday wear: fuse style with function to expand wearing occasions
- Graph 22: occasions for wearing sportswear, 2025
- Multi-occasion adaptability: secondary selling point after quality, value for money
- Graph 23: purchase factors for sports and outdoor wear, 2024
- High-frequency runners, cyclists happy to explore cities while exercising
- Graph 24: interest in exploring cities and nature through sports, by outdoor cycling times, 2025
- Graph 25: interest in exploring cities and nature through sports, by running participation, 2025
- Tourism, sports event economy bring cross-sector tie-up opportunities
- Graph 26: annual spend and year-on-year growth per capita among certified marathon participants, 2023-24
- Graph 27: annual spend and year-on-year growth among certified marathon participants, 2023-24
- To reach ‘explorers’, build strategic systems for low-barrier experiences plus social multiplication
- Graph 28: interest in sports-related leisure activities and TGI, by type of sports player, 2025
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Issues and insights
- Lower tier cities: balance product tech with competitive pricing to tap potential of urban sports
- Urban sportswear has huge potential in lower-tier cities, but price-conscious consumers have limited budgets
- Graph 29: high-income families’ interest in wearing sportswear/footwear on sports and fitness occasions, by city tier, 2025
- Lower tier cities key to achieving standout: create differentiated competitive advantage based on value for money, core features
- Graph 30: purchase factors (high-income families) for specific sports footwear and clothing, by city tier, 2025
- Use live streams, asset-light physical channels flexibly
- Lower entry barriers to sports, boost brand stickiness with all-occasion experiences
- Active ageing: focus on health needs, trust to create ageing-friendly products, experiences
- Seize the silver economy dividend – build brand competitiveness around quality, trust
- Graph 31: population aged 60 and above, by number and proportion, 2022-24
- Tap into health needs of middle-aged, older people with improved lightweight, cushioned and anti-slip designs
- Explore gifting market for adult children buying for parents with content tailored to younger people, family consumption occasions
- Improve shopping experience for older people to attract them back to physical stores
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Appendix – methodology
- Methodology
- Purchase factors for specific sports clothing and footwear
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